Brown boasts of appeal to indie voters

Democratic U.S. House candidate Charlie Brown is announcing the support of an organization that represents independent or “Decline to State” voters.

“Independents know Washington is broken and partisan politics is the reason,” said Jim Mangia, co-chair of IndependentMovement.org.  “That’s why we’re proud to stand with Retired Lt. Col. Charlie Brown--a battle tested, independent minded leader who has dedicated his life to serving our country, and putting patriotism before partisanship.”

As he runs for the Roseville-area District 4 seat he narrowly lost to retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle in 2006, Brown, a retired Air Force officer, is casting himself as a fierce independent who puts partisanship aside in favor of getting results.

“The endorsement speaks volumes about the resonance of Charlie Brown’s actions and his message of putting patriotism before partisanship,” Brown spokesman Todd Stenhouse told PolitickerCA.com.

Decline to State voters are becoming increasingly sought-after group, as the group is a growing statewide. According to an April voter registration report from the Secretary of State’s office, Decline to State Voters in the state totaled 2,433,134, or 16.28 percent of the state’s electorate in 2004. This year the group numbers 3,069,696, or 19.31 percent. More than 72,000 of the voters in District are registered as Decline to State.